Gold Coast real estate: Gold Coast unit sales spike 24 per cent in just two years

Gold Coast developers are selling 20 units a week more than they were just two years ago. Stunning new figures released today reveal the Coast’s hot spots, what people are buying and what’s driving the bonanza.

GOLD Coast developers are selling five units a week more than they were just two years ago, new figures reveal.

While the rest of the country wrestles a spiralling property market, the average sale price for luxury new apartments has jumped $100,000 to more than $700,000 since 2017.

New data to be released today by property consultant company Urbis shows the number of off-the-plan unit sales skyrocketed 24 per cent from 2017 to 2018.

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The Surfers Paradise Skyline. Photo: Jerad Williams

RECORD NUMBER OF DEVELOPMENT APPLICATION APPROVALS

Overall last year, 1010 new apartments were sold.

Urbis expect the growth to continue with sales campaigns for more than 2000 new apartments tipped to launch in the first half of the year.

It is being driven by strong population growth and interstate migration.

The data also reveals:

* 33 new apartment projects launched across the Coast in 2018, two of which sold out entirely in the final quarter of last year.

* Interstate investors and owner occupiers made up the majority of sales in the final quarter of 2018. Interstate investors made up 41 per cent of those sales and owner-occupiers 38 per cent.

There’s been a move away from mega towers. Photo: Chris Schramm

Urbis senior consultant Lynda Campbell said the Gold Coast’s market had changed to suit the people buying.

“Urbis is monitoring 75 new apartment projects across the Gold Coast, a post-financial crisis record,” she said.

“While the number of apartment projects has risen, the projects are generally containing less apartments than was seen in previous cycles

Surfers Paradise. Photo: Jerad Williams

“We have seen a shift away from the mega ­towers and sites with numerous buildings toward smaller boutique-style apartment buildings.”

The Bulletin this month revealed that the Gold Coast was becoming the state’s downsizer capital on the back of interstate investors relocating to the city and buying up large luxury units.

New Real Estate Institute of Queensland (REIQ) figures released on Tuesday revealed vacancy rate had jumped from 1.7 per cent in the September 2018 quarter to 4.8 per cent in the December 2018 quarter.

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Sales are strong. Photo: David Clark

The last time the vacancy rate hit 4 per cent was in the June 2012 quarter and it peaked at 5.2 per cent in the June 2011 quarter.

REIQ’s John Newland said he did not expect the large amount of new unit stock going on the market to create oversupply.

“I was surprised by the jump in vacancy because this isn’t something we have seen on the ground,” he said.

“There is strong demand from the owner-occupier market so I do not think there will be any oversupply issue.”